Renaming your product? Don’t forget SEO! Continuing to use your old product name in website URLs and image folders after a rebranding is detrimental to your search engine optimization (SEO). Here’s why, and how to fix it:
The Problem: Conflicting Signals & Wasted Potential
Changing a product name creates a significant SEO challenge. Search engines see the old and new names as separate entities, leading to:
- Conflicting Signals:
This confusion hinders indexing and ranking for both names. Search engines struggle to understand the connection between, for example, “QuickNote” and “MemoPro” - Broken Links & 404 Errors:
Backlinks to pages using the old name become broken, harming your SEO and user experience. Similarly, images referencing the old name might fail to load. - Wasted Link Juice:
The value passed from backlinks to pages with the old name is lost, failing to boost your new product page’s authority. - Inconsistent Branding:
Using different names across your site creates a confusing and unprofessional brand image.
The Solution: A Comprehensive SEO Migration
To maintain your search ranking and avoid losing valuable SEO equity, follow these crucial steps:
- 301 Redirects:
Implement 301 redirects from all URLs and image references using the old name “QuickNote” to their new counterparts “MemoPro”. This signals to search engines a permanent move, preserving link juice and preventing 404 errors. - Update URLs:
Change all URLs containing the “QuickNote” to “MemoPro”. This is paramount for SEO success. - Rename Image Folders & References:
Update image folder names and all image references in your website code to reflect the “MemoPro”. - Update Internal Links:
Ensure all internal links point to the updated URLs with the new product name “MemoPro”. - Submit a New Sitemap:
Inform search engines of the updated site structure and URLs by submitting a fresh sitemap. - Monitor Your Rankings:
Track your search engine rankings to observe the impact of these changes. Allow time for search engines to re-index your updated pages.
Acting swiftly is essential. Leaving the old product name in your website’s code only hinders your SEO efforts. A thorough migration following the steps above will protect your rankings and ensure a smooth transition for both search engines and your customers.
